Saltaldr
by Nathan Fraust
Summary: "For everything in Deus' Cosmos, there is an Age: a timeless Age of gilded heroes; a striking Age of metal and galvanizing motion; a blighted Age of infinite conflict and ever-growing crises. The Age of Iron and Shade is now past, and the Age of Salt, of Desecration and Restoration, has begun."/ Post-Metal AU: After Barbatos' defeat, the Merciless is drafted into an eternal war.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It hurt to breathe. Even with all of the power that still flowed through him, all of the _rage_ , it still… hurt.

Bruce removed his helm, wincing as the shards of _Tīmōríā_ sliced through his cheek. He gazed up at her, teeth bared. "Do it."

"No," she snarled.

" _Do it,_ " he repeated, voice low, "or else he-" -Bruce squeezed the remnants of the Colonel's throat that was still in his grip- "won't be the first. Etta, Donna, Hippolyta, Clark, Jason. Bru-"

And suddenly, he couldn't breathe. At all.

She hefted him up, hand gripped around his throat. The winds howling from the portal Barbatos' tower had formed whipped her hair about her face, but he could see the tears streaming down her face.

Lifting a shaking hand, he flitted his fingers over her cheek, and gave a faint smile.

"He'll need you, and you him," he managed to choke out.

She paused.

Dropping his hand, he dipped his head.

She pulled her fist back, and then-

* * *

Daniel looked up at the ever-shifting skyscape of rich violet-tinged stars, and was afraid.

The dark nights of the Dragon of the Forge were over, yes, and he indeed felt a twinge of satisfaction and pride in the knowledge that he had assisted in casting the infernal horror back into the forge from whence it came, but as he looked westward over the Ghost Castle's eastern ramparts and eyed the growing void ringed by violent sparks and spurts of crimson-orange flame, his realm, and his own being, felt like a speck of dirt in a cosmic whirlpool of black.

" _Daniel, do not dwell on such things. All shall be as the One wills it."_

His eyes flicked over to the brown-hooded and hook-nosed man, who he knew was no man, and his milk-blue eyes, which flickered over his Log at a significantly slower rate than normal.

"And what _has_ He willed?" he said, in a voice so soft it might as well have been a shout rebounding through the near-eternal silence in his halls.

" _For everything in Deus' Cosmos,_ " Destiny began, " _there is an Age: a timeless Age of gilded heroes; a striking Age of metal and galvanizing motion; a blighted Age of infinite conflict and ever-growing crises. The Age of Iron and Shade is now past, and the Age of Salt, of Desecration and Restoration, has begun._ "

Daniel nearly shivered at the twinge of fear in the Endless' voice, but remained composed.

" _His Hand has sent one who knows of war to your shores, for he is to be the means by which we halt what has now befallen us._ "

Daniel closed his eyes, extending his senses to the shore, and stopping as he touched something… _dark_.

"No." He looked at Destiny with wide eyes. "Surely, He did not mean _him_?"

The brown hood dipped.

"But- but-"

Something rested on his shoulder, and he twisted his neck to see a hand, scarred yet strong. A feeling of hope rushed over him, and his lips turned upwards as a raven with feathers of the purest white settled on him. The corvid turned its head to look at him straight on, blinked, then let out a caw and took off, heading towards the Shore.

Daniel let out a heavy sigh, then, with a nod and slight smile towards Destiny, snapped his fingers and stepped forward, onto the burnt orange sands of the Shore of Dreams. Approaching the prone figure sprawled near the shoreline, he ran a hand over the man's wild tangle of grey-white hair and whispered, "Remember, and be renewed."

* * *

 **Translations:**

 _Tīmōríā - Vengeance, Torture_

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, if you're already a reader of this story: yeah, I'm revising this already.**

 **See, the thing is, when I started this story, I didn't quite know what I wanted to do with it. That's not to say I'm just throwing darts blindly and seeing what sticks, but I have noticed that the quality of the storytelling is rather lacking compared to what I can do. It's part of the reason why writing PkK (and _yes_ , I'm working on Chapter 4/Issue 3) has been easier to write and much more of a coherent story when held up against this: I'm working off of a framework (the BatB: BM & WW miniseries, to be precise) that has been somewhat set in place for me. **

**With _this_ story, however, I'm attempting something much more grandiose and ambitious: "fixing"/tweaking the landscape of the DC multiverse just enough so that it's somewhat of a wholly different beast from, say, Marvel's stuff. DC has such a rich mythos to draw on, yet they've confined themselves to just one world for most of the stories they're telling. My question is: why _not_ bring back the wonder of the '70s and '80s earlier? Why _not_ expand your multiverse to infinity? The landscape of the DC multiverse can have so _many_ variations, so why hold yourself back?**

 **So, I'm putting together a plan to fix that landscape, at least in my eyes, and the first thing to do, as any good storyteller would tell you, is to flesh out who's taking you on this journey. Hopefully, I can do a sufficient job with them.**

 **-Nate**


	2. I

**I: The Mantling**

 _ **15:12:31, June 25, 2011 – Plain of Themyscira, Samsun, Turkey**_

" _Bruce?"_

 _His heart twisted within him as he turned to find Diana before him, and he swept her up into his arms, wordless with joy._

 _But something felt_ wrong _._

 _He released her. "Diana, I-"_

 _"What did you_ do _?!"_

 _She looked past him, at the headless corpse that was formerly the god of war, then returned his gaze with wide eyes. "You couldn't have- you_ can't _-"_

 _"I_ had _to, Princess," he pleaded, reaching for her hands, and heart sinking as she pulled away. "If I didn't-"_

 _"You don't_ understand _, Bruce. If a god falls, if the balance is no more, then_ everything _follows suit. You have to- you have to-" Her eyes lit with a flame of determination. "You have to take it off."_

 _His brow furrowed "What?"_

 _"You need to take off the helm, Bruce. I can't- no, I_ won't _lose you to them."_

 _"I-" He hesitated, then: "I can't."_

 _"You_ must _."_

 _"No, Diana. Ares may have been the one who slaughtered our people and raped our world, but_ his _parents,_ your _gods, let him do it. They have to_ answer _for what they've done."_

 _"You can't just_ do _that, Bruce. You are_ not _the one who determines the gods' fate."_

 _"As just a man, no, I couldn't, but with_ this _-" -he tapped at his temple, the sound echoing in his ears- "- with this, I can."_

 _She stiffened, backing away from him. "I won't let you destroy this world just for your vengeance," she said as she settled into a traditional Amazonian fighting stance._

 _"I won't fight you, Diana," he said slowly._

 _"Then-" she paused, swallowed thickly, and returned his gaze with glistening, steely eyes. "then you will die."_

 _Reaching down, she picked up the Godkiller, and, rising to her full stature, gripped it with both hands._

 _"Goodbye, my love," she whispered, then lunged forward with a sorrowful cry of rage._

* * *

 _ **17:17:14,**_ _ **June 25, 2011 – Plain of Themyscira, Samsun, Turkey**_

 _A numbness came over him as she stilled in his hands, her half-lidded eyes losing the near-divine shine he'd come to associate her with as her sudden breaths ceased to be._

 _His hand rose, gliding just over her cheek, then curled into a fist._

 _"So, you did the deed, huh, Bruce?"_

 _Bruce lifted his eyes to see a worn and dusty pair of boots, a stripe of ivory and crimson gleaming through despite the grime._

 _"You're not-"_

 _"Her? Of course not._ You _killed me- well,_ her _."_

 _"No-"_

 _"But you_ did _. Can't you still feel the bruises? The_ thrill _?"_

 _"No, I- I-"_

 _"Face it,_ erastḗs _, you_ enjoyed _it. All that_ power _."_

 _"I_ didn't _-"_

 _"Oh, come_ on _, rich kid. You_ knew _what would happen if we gave in, if_ you _gave in to what you wanted, and look where it got us."_

 _"Out." His voice cracked, deepened as he whispered the command._

 _She began to hum, and his heart wrenched at the tune._

 _"Get OUT!" he screamed, clasping his hands over his ears and yanking at the helm._

 _The humming stopped as soon as he got it off._

 _Dust billowed across the once-vibrant landscape, coating the fallen warriors in waves of beige and vermillion and whipping his cape over his head. His muscles tensed at the sound of boots skidding on sand, but he didn't turn around._

 _"Oh, God. God, please, no. Not again."_

 _Ever so gently, he secured the helm and sword to his utility belt, then slipped his hands under her legs and neck and lifted her into his arms. Resting her head on his shoulder, he rose to his feet, then turned to look at Wally._

 _"Diana…" the speedster whispered, pulling off his cowl. Tears streamed down his face as his gaze went from her to Bruce. "What_ happened _?"_

 _"Are-" Bruce stopped himself, swallowing the lie before he continued: "The god of war killed her."_

 _Wally put a shaking hand to his face, then said, in a shivering voice, "She deserves to be buried at her home. But- the queen-"_

 _"We're going to Gotham." His voice was firm, never betraying the sudden swell of black hate he felt towards the bigoted woman and her ilk._

 _"But Bruce-"_

 _"It's what she would have wanted, Wally." Bruce clutched her to his chest. "What she would have wanted_ me _to do."_

 _Wally pursed his lips, then nodded. "Alright. Hang on."_

* * *

 _ **20:25:05, June 25, 2011 – Wayne Manor Ruins, New Jersey**_

 _The flames licked at the ceiling, turning it a further shade of charcoal. The smoke stung the cut on his hand, but he paid little heed to the pain as he stared into the tangerine tongues, watching as her skin and hair seemed to harden like clay, turning a brilliant shade of ivory and ebony._

 _He gave a small half-smile, relishing in the final bit of wonder she had allowed him to feel, then, breathing a heavy sigh, turned and walked out of what was once the garden, towards the sea cliffs._

 _Wally was looking out at the setting sun, arms crossed over his chest. He looked over his shoulder at Bruce's approaching form, speaking up when he reached him: "So, we won."_

 _"Seems that way."_

 _"And Diana- she and Ares killed each other?"_

 _"Not exactly."_

 _He could feel the speedster's eyes on him, could almost hear the questioning tone of his next words._

 _"I said that the god of war killed Diana," he continued, reaching for the helm-_ his _helm, and the sword. "I never said Ares."_

 _"But then- No."_

 _He slipped the helm on, then looked at the redhead, who was backing away from him, eyes wide._

 _"You- you_ couldn't _have. You_ loved _her!"_

 _"Still does." Metal scraped against metal as she put her arms around his, lifting a pair of glimmering pistols into view. "He'll tell the others,_ erastḗs _. You know what you have to do."_

 _"I'm sorry, Wally."_

 _The speedster's eyes hardened into orbs of pale ice. "No, you're not. And I won't let you get away with this."_

 _"Then run, Wally. Run."_

* * *

 _ **22:11:02, June 14, 2009 – Gotham City, New Jersey**_

 _Batman's cowl beeped as he landed a final blow on Jalah, simultaneously tossing a sonielectric batarang at Hugo Strange. The obsessive former psychologist collapsed, finger brushing against the trigger button for the IPL atomizer device._

 _Whipping out another batarang, this one sparking with overcharged electricity, Batman threw it into the console, shorting out the device's system, and stopping the countdown at_ 00:0418 _._

 _Batman let out a deep breath, in, out, then brought his fingers to his cowl. "Batman."_

 _"Bruce, Clark-"_

 _Dick's voice turned to static as thunder split the sky, the tinkling of glass faint amidst the crash. Looking out the warehouse windows, Batman could see the lights of New Troy dim in the distance, then-_

 _Batman walked forward, watching as a shadow fell over the Pascal Oil Yards, round, yet distorted by the light, an orange-bronze sheen cast over the roofs, and the battered globe of the Daily Planet smashed into Hob's River, causing waves to crash over the ._

 _Through the shock, he could faintly hear his son's voice crack with sorrow and rage as he relayed the events unfolding in the city gleaming across the river. His hand curled into a fist, and he whirled around, grabbing the waking Strange and pulling him face-to-cowl. "What did you_ do _?!"_

 _The scientist growled back, with faint irritation ringing in his arrogant tone, "What is occurring now, Mr._ Wayne _, is not my doing."_

 _Batman saw the flash of a blade out of the corner of his eye; grabbing at Strange's arm, he stepped forward, twisted around, and threw the man- straight through the warehouse window, down towards the yards below. Leaping forward, he readied his line launcher and fired it at the psychologist's arcing body, cursing in angry relief as the outgoing bolt passed through the man's pantleg and flesh, latching on the other side, and the other bolt struck through and latched onto the inside of the concrete wall._

 _Ignoring the screams of pain coming from just outside the shattered window, Batman stalked over to Jalah, who'd struggled to his feet at the sound of his master's defeat, and delivered a swift, vicious uppercut to the Arab's jaw. As the man slammed back down to the ground, Batman refocused on Dick's words- and his heart stopped._

 _"_ So, Batsy, are you okay? Are you okay, Batsy? _"_

 _The cackle drove fear deep into his heart, the same time as a wet groan echoed through his cowl._

 _"_ You've been hit by- _"_

 _The thud of something hard against flesh resounded._

 _"_ You've been struck by- _"_

 _The_ cllkkk _of a switchblade._

 _"_ A smooth criminal. _"_

 _Bruce let out a scream of anguish and impotent rage as the swish of air and the gurgle of a slit throat came over the radio waves._

* * *

 _ **03:04:11, June 16, 2009 – Watchtower**_

 _J'onn kept his distance as Batman got up to dump out the fifteenth cold cup of black coffee in a row._

 _Everyone did._

 _The "Desecration of Metropolis", as hushed and somber broadcasters from around the country, and, indeed, the_ world _, were calling the events of June 14, 2009, was being blared from every screen on the Watchtower - all except for the ones in the mess hall._ Those _showed news feeds from its sister city across the river._

 _J'onn kept one eye on the screen to his right, which was currently on a live feed on the efforts being made to sift through the blackened ruins of Wayne Manor. The Martian winced internally as he remembered the image of the Dark Knight, shoulders slumped, carrying a sheet-covered bundle through the halls and into the morgue, followed by four more over the next hour. No one approached him then, either, though medical staff followed behind him when he moved an unconscious, indecent, and heavily-bleeding Barbara Gordon into the infirmary._

 _Bruce's mind was an iron wall manned by shadow soldiers when J'onn went to talk with him telepathically, so instead, he reached out to someone he believed would be able to help him through this tragedy. What he found when he stepped into Diana's mindscape was a willing participant, as he'd hoped, and so-_

 _"Batman, we need to talk about this."_

 _Bruce ignored the Amazon's commanding tone, his cowl's brow furrowed and eyes narrowed as he steepled his hands._

 _"_ Batman _."_

 _"Delaware and New Jersey are off-limits to all League members. The lack of reports from D.C. indicate that_ _the threat_ _has arrived in the general area, at least." He touched his cowl. "Isley, any word from Holland?" He listened for a few moments, then bowed his head. "Alright. Get over to Green Mountain Nationa-"_

 _He clenched his jaw, then ground out, in a tone that brooked no argument, "Look,_ Pamela _. It's entirely possible that we are in the direst situation we have been, or ever will be. Once he's done with slaughtering humanity, how easy do you think it would be for him to pull up you and your precious "_ babies _"? We don't have time for petty "plant-killer" agendas and whatnot. You saw what I did to the ones who wouldn't cooperate."_

 _J'onn's heart stopped, and, as subtly as possible, he morphed his nostrils to that of a bloodhound, to detect-_

 _Clay, cornstarch, lotion… and sickly-smelling blood._

 _Bruce caught J'onn's eye as he finished, "We need you at more than just 'full strength' if we're going to be able to fight effectively. Get to Vermont. Batman, out."_

* * *

 **Translations:**

 ** _erastḗs_ \- lover**

* * *

 **Author's Notes: A number of people have pointed out the disruption in flow that my writing style has created for them in the reviews they left. I'm going back through and switching around some stuff in order to make it easier to read and follow.**

 **-Nate**


	3. II

**II: Friction**

 _ **12:17:18, August 4, 2009 - Camp Alpha, just outside Bremo Bluff, VA**_

 _Diana flew towards the cloud of dust in the near distance, over the heads of refugees and earthbound heroes and villains. Not many were moving towards the sound, from what she could see; whoever had put out the 10-23 had done so so suddenly that the shock hadn't yet passed. What murmurs she_ could _hear were stifled and off-centered; words like "crazy", "sudden", and "Bat" filtered through all the noise to lend urgency to her flight._

 _She reached out with her mind before suddenly drawing it back. Her heart ached at the vacant space once filled by a certain Choco-loving Martian, and her eyes brimmed with unshed tears._ So much loss, _she thought to herself._ And for _what_?

 _Another plume of ash shot into the air, chasing the constant, lightningless thunder. Shadows flickered through the cloud, and Diana could hear the_ wssh _ing_ _hum of heat vision in time with the flashes of yellow-white that shot through the sky. Above it all, though, was a chilling sound: the bellowing of a being full of rage, undercut with a tone of panic._

 _"_ WHERE IS SHE?! _"_

 _Halting her flight, Diana drew in a breath, then released. The sudden gust of wind dispelled the hanging cloud of particles, revealing a horrific sight._

 _Batman circled around the heaving form of Connor Kent, his right arm hanging loosely at his side while his left poised over his utility belt. He spat out a wad of bloody spit, grimacing as his dislocated jaw made the motions, then tossed out the grenade he'd just palmed. The explosive struck the ground in front of Connor, obscuring the young hybrid from view in a brown-white fog and allowing the Dark Knight to grab a deep blue shard of crystal from his belt and fist it._

 _Connor blurred out of the fog, coughing violently, before refocusing on Batman. Eyes streaming with tears, he tensed, then leaped up into the air, and_ hovered _._

 _"Great_ Hera _," Diana whispered, eyes widening as Superboy's eyes glowed golden-white, then fired, setting the ground around Batman alight and cloaking the area in steam. With a low growl, Superboy flew towards Batman, fist outstretched._

 _"_ NO! _" Diana cried, throwing herself forward, praying to Hermes for speed and precision as she collided with the enraged half-Kryptonian, sending them both crashing down to the ground. Superboy threw an elbow out, hitting the Amazon on her breastplate and sending her skidding back a few meters. She jumped to her feet, noting the bags under Connor's eyes, the flecks of orangish-red in his irises._

 _"_ You, _" Superboy growled, the panic in his voice giving way to pure hate. He shook his head, groaning in pain, before fixing Diana with a glare. "_ You _sent him after her._ You're _the one holding her captive." He stalked towards the Amazon, fists clenching with a_ krrck _of stressed bone._

 _Diana held out her hands, palms facing towards Superboy. "_ Who _would I be holding, Connor?"_

 _"Don't_ CALL _me that!" Connor shouted, nose flaring. "You don't even deserve to_ speak _, after what you did to Gar."_

 _"Okay, I won't say-" Diana began, some part of her mind shuffling away the slip-up for afterwards, when Superboy let out a bellow._

 _"SHUT UUUUUP!" he howled, charging towards her like a maddened_ taûros _._

 _Diana waited until he was nearly upon her before stepping out of his path. Grabbing him round the waist, she bent at the waist, flipping him over, then put his arms into a submission hold. Connor struggled against her, bucking like a drowning man and forcing her to adjust her grip in order to fit a knee between his shoulder blades._

 _"Batman," she grunted, arms starting to ache from the effort of keeping the half-Kryptonian immobilized._

 _Suddenly, he was next to her, rolling up Connor's sleeve to reveal a silvery-red patch in the shape of Superman's crest on his shoulder. Grunting in exertion, he pushed the crystal shard into Connor's arm, splitting the patch in two and sinking the piece of what she now realized was Kryptonite into the muscle. Once the shard was about an inch in, he let go._

 _Glaring at the Dark Knight for this latest bit of trickery, Diana held onto Connor as he thrashed, moaning in pain while Batman got to work with one of his Batarangs. WIth the_ krrk _of breaking glass, he broke the shard of Kryptonite off at the skin, then, ever so carefully, peeled off the two halves of the patch. Storing them in another compartment on his belt, he removed a roll of gauze and wrapped it around the boy's arm. Cinching it tight, he muttered, "Get him to Linderman as fast as you can."_

 _"Bruce-"_

 _"_ Now _, Diana." He rose to his feet, his one good arm holding the other in place, and began to walk back to camp. "I've got a feeling this was just a diversion for something else."_

 _"Something worse than_ this _?"_

 _"_ Much _worse."_

* * *

 _ **09:22:19, August 7, 2009 - Camp Alpha, just outside Bremo Bluff, VA**_

 _Bruce rubbed at his face, trying to put some semblance of shaving cream onto his cheeks as he fumbled with the substance, his hands still slippery from the application of the shave oil. With a few more curses and not a little amount of sorrow for the loss of his closest friend, he finished his lathering, rinsed his hands, then picked up the razor. Flicking it open, he started on the rightmost stubble, scraping at it absentmindedly as his thoughts turned to the latest development in the camp._

Beetle: found in his lab, GSW to the head; microscope and slides indicate he'd been analyzing _something_ before his death. Isley: missing, presumed MIA; Booster: vanished in a "flash of blue energy", according to bystanders.

J'onn…

 _He paused for a moment, then sighed and continued, finishing up the right side with another run over his upper lip._

J'onn: dead from a heart attack, possibly caused by sudden immolation; bloodwork showed ratio of magnesium _three times_ informed regular amount, likely to be higher due to presence of magnesium molecules on skin. Analysis of undigested and uneaten Chocos revealed high amount of hallucinogenic substances laced into cream. Hallucinogen likely similar to Crane's fear gas, except liquidized for consumption.

Correlation: time travel? Immense powers or intellect? Possible threat? But to who? Flagg? Hardcastle? Lo-

 _"Batman."_

 _Bruce flinched, letting out a short curse as the razor's edge bit into his cheek, cutting a small, but deep, furrow in the flesh._

 _The sound of her boots padding against the hard-packed dirt quickened as she rushed to his side,gently grabbing the razor from his grip and setting it down on the makeshift sink. "Let me see."_

 _Bruce jerked away, hand coming up to stem the small flow of blood soaking into his shirt, only to have his jaw grabbed and turned towards her, forcing him to look into her eyes._

 _"Bruce." Her voice was soft, tightening his stomach as he forced himself to_ not _look at her lips. "_ Let me see. _"_

 _He tried his best to convey his displeasure at the situation they found themselves in as best he could with only his eyes, but she countered with a simple, single raise of an eyebrow. They held each other's gaze for a moment, then he conceded with a slow blink._

 _"Where are your bandages?" she asked in an almost-conversational tone as she let go of his jaw, instead slowly turning his head to the side to get a better view of the cut._

 _"That's not necessary-" he started to protest, when Diana cut him off with a squeeze to his shoulder._

 _"_ Hera _, Bruce! You could've sliced your face wide open! What possessed you to use-_ this _?!" She held up the straight razor between thumb and index finger, her nose wrinkling at the slippery, sticky mixture of blood and shave oil dripping onto her hand._

 _"We all have to keep up appearances,_ Princess _," he replied teasingly, his face stretching into what was going to be a smirk, but quickly devolved into a grimace as the wound shifted, sending another rivulet of red down his chin. "Even former billionaire playboys."_

 _She scoffed. "I seriously doubt anyone cares if the_ Batman _has a case of- what was it- 'four-o'clock shadow'?"_

 _"It's '_ five _-o'clock', and you_ know _it,_ Prince _."_

 _"_ Do I _?" She leaned in, lips nearly brushing his own; her whisper sent a shiver down his spine. "Maybe you could give me a-_ refresher? _"_

 _"Princess," he growled, moving his head back. When she pursued, he tried again, a note of desperation - and of lust - in his voice. "_ Diana. _"_

 _"We're all each other has, Bruce. Don't you_ want _-" she began, pushing him to the ground with a light shove and straddling his hips, "-to know just how_ good _we are together?"_

 _He let out an imperceptible groan as she ground against him, feeling the warmth through his suit's codpiece. His hands fisted in the Kevlar-titanium triweave, digging hard into his skin. "I_ can't _."_

 _Her eyes darkened to nearly the color of navy. "Well,_ I can _."_

 _Before he even had time to blink, her lips were on his, her tongue intertwining with his own, like a moist, mint-flavored pink python. Her hands grasped at his arms, his chest, the magnetic locks on his pants, roaming over each and every scar and valley. Unbidden, his hands came up to do the same, cupping her breasts over the fraying, long-sleeved sky-blue shirt she'd worn the last time they'd done anything_ remotely _close to this, gripping her around the waist and pulling her further against him._

 _"_ Bruce, _" she moaned, the sound like divine music to his ears. She broke off their battle of tongues, moving to his chin, his neck, to lap at the blood and sweat stuck to his skin._

 _"Princess," he whispered into her ear, relishing in the shiver that ran through her at his husky vocals, in the heat that felt like a fire between his hips._

 _"I- I-" she began, then suddenly stopped, coughing violently._

 _"Diana?" he queried as her body jerked in time with her coughs, something wet flowing against his shoulder. Gripping her shoulder, he flipped her over. "_ No. _"_

 _He lifted her into a sitting position, heart pounding at the quick, panicked wheezes as the Amazon struggled for breath. "Diana," he said, taking her face into his hands; his heart skipped a beat at the sight of her sweat-stricken, greying skin, her bluish-purple lips covered in red-pink foam. He took his gaze away from her for a moment to shout for a medic. "_ Diana. Stay with me. _"_

 _Her eyes, unfocused with panic and fear, focused on his, holding his gaze as her breath slowed, the beat of her heart against his palms coming slower and slower before stuttering to a stop._

 _Bruce's mouth hung open, frozen in shock at the suddenness of it all, before closing. He hugged her cold corpse tight, rocking back and forth as his mouth formed the same voiceless word, over and over again:_ No.

 _After what seemed like an eternity, he drew back to look at her again. With the utmost care, he wiped away the foam from her lips, closed her eyes with his right index and little finger, and brushed some stray hairs away from her face. Numbly, he laid her down to the ground, stripping off his shirt and bundling it up to provide some cushion for her head, then laid her hands at her sides, straightening out the fingers before rigor mortis could set in._

 _He rose to his feet, looking her over for a moment before whispering, "I'm so_ sorry _."_

 _"Don't tell me_ you're _going to start_ singing _now. Though, now that I think about it…"_

 _His body stilled, going cold as his teeth set and he looked up._

 _"Why," he said in a quiet growl, his voice the eye in the storm of black rage within._

 _"Eh," the silhouetted figure shrugged. They tossed their hair in a manner so flippant that his gloves squeaked at the sudden increase in pressure from his fists. "She was_ in _our way."_

 _"Our?"_

 _A flash of white, then the sultry-voiced figure continued. "Oh, you-know-who. Daddy dearest and I, we've got a good thing going: the overthrow of Olympus first,_ control _over the whole universe next. Still, he needed some…_ convincing _."_

 _He stepped around Diana's body, stalking towards the murderer before breaking out into a full run. Leaping into the air, he kicked at the figure, ducking low and sweeping out a leg in what he knew would be a futile attempt to knock them down. They evaded both blows easily, swaying and bending at inhuman speeds._

 _Bruce followed up with a quick set of jabs and hooks at the throat, solar plexus, and kidneys, where the most damage would be done, grunting in calm fury as his attacks were halted or deflected one by one. He feinted towards the face, observing as the figure moved to the left, before whirling around and slamming a fist into the back and side of the head, knocking them off balance and revealing the expected amethyst hair and icy blue eyes._

 _Circe grunted, shaking her head before shooting him a hateful glare. "Lucky shot._ Don't _expect another."_

 _He snapped the belt latch shut, then looked at her again, eyes blank. "I'll get one. Just one, and you'll pay for what you've done, and eventually, so. Will._ He _."_

 _"Well, then." The witch stepped backwards, out of the tent and into the light. "_ Come _and get_ me _, o 'Guardian of Gotham'."_

* * *

 _ **09:44:11, August 7, 2009 - Camp Alpha, just outside Bremo Bluff, VA**_

 _Diana felt the vertebrae in the man's spine crack and shift, distending the skin as she pulled his head quickly to the side._

 _Lord grunted as she let him go, eyes going bloodshot from the sudden pressure on his brain and skull. He crumpled to the ground, mouth moving, though no sound seemed to come out._

 _The flesh bound by the Lariat sizzled as she strained to hear whatever the dying man was saying, only picking up the words "Fear him," before he exhaled his last breath and grew still._

 _Diana was still staring down at the body, brow furrowed as to the meaning of his dying words, when the sounds of gasps and murmurs filtered in through the low thrum of blood pulsing in her ears. She looked up and around to see a crowd gathered around her and the body; when she rose to her feet, however, they collectively took a few steps back in fear. She tried to explain, tried to reason with them, but they dispersed as she approached, each holding some sort of negative emotion in their eyes, and_ all _focused towards her._

 _She felt her eyes heat up, both in sorrow and in indignation, but she gathered herself and strode towards where she had left Bruce immobilized. Seeing that he was not there, she walked towards his tent, noticing a large crowd that had gathered around the vicinity of the temporary domicile. When they saw her, however, they fled, whispers of "_ It's _her_ , _" and "_ Murdering bitch, _" reaching her ears, among other things._

 _She took in a deep breath, attempting to calm the rising rage within her, then walked to the tent flap and stepped inside._

 _Bruce looked up at her, hard steel-blue eyes betraying nothing. "I take it the killer was Lord?"_

 _"Yes, but-"_

 _"From what the mob outside was saying, you snapped his neck."_

 _"I_ had _-"_

 _"Don't." He held up a hand, eyes sparking with anger and, surprisingly - lust and sorrow. "Don't. Just- just get out."_

 _The rage dissipated as soon as it came, leaving her hollow and aching. "Bruce."_

 _He looked down, shrouding his eyes in shadow._

 _"Bruce… I'm- I'm_ sorry _."_

 _Silence was his reply._

 _"_ Bruce _… say_ something _._ Please _."_

 _He breathed in, then said, in a soft voice as rigid as steel:_

 _"Get. Out."_

 _Diana drew in a breath through her nose, eyes beginning to sting as she looked upon the friend she'd just lost, then turned on her heel and walked out slowly, taking to the sky as soon as the sun hit her fully and allowing the tears she'd left unshed to fall to the earth far below._

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes:_ **

**Moved this chapter to the third spot (second if you don't count the prologue) to facilitate better flow.**

 **Also, to ObiWan Tran, who recommended the original version of this story, Valnarok, on batmanwonderwoman . com: thank you for the rec. Hopefully this will make a little more sense now.**

 **-Nate**


	4. III

**III: The Fear and the Dread of Them**

 _ **05:54:05, December 30, 2009 - Outskirts of Camp Gamma, near Verdun, France**_

 _Taking out a worn pair of micro-binoculars, he peered through the lenses at the sea of black, misshapen figures that had only recently appeared, as if out of thin air. Most everyone in camp hadn't been able to sleep since the horrific din of battle cries and death-screams had begun at yesterday's sunset, the exact same time and level as the past few days._

 _Those of them who'd been through the madness of the past eight years shrugged off the noise as best they could, but their primary fighting force - as he'd pointed out to Stewart, Prince, and the rest at last night's war council - had been on edge since the bombardment of sound had started._

'What did you expect, Batman?' _he remembered Stewart saying, voice tired and strained from caring for an increasingly-cranky Thanagarian, but eyes steeled for combat._ 'Before this whole shitstorm started, less than one-hundredth of the population had any active military or police training; that's, what, one-in- _two_ -hundredths now?'

 _Prince had come to his defense, pointing out the progress they'd made in war preparations since their departure from Norfolk in late August, as well the "surprising" number of metas and_ homo magi _that had come out of the woodwork; the fact, while astonishing for what few new people had been recently roped into the council, brought only a miniscule smirk to his lips before he wrest back control of the rebellious muscle movement._

 _Zatanna, who he'd appointed as leader of the magical division of their forces ahead of a surly Constantine, then took up the report. Instead of positives, though, she began arguing that, with the speed at which the world had fallen into disarray, the power behind whatever enemy they faced, be it mystical in origin or otherwise, would far outweigh their capabilities._

 _Ivy had broken in with a sneer, but before the two could even begin to get underway with their_ pointless _undermining and digs, he'd simply stood up with a curt "Need to do some scouting" and left the suddenly stifling tent, leaving behind a stunned silence._

 _His cowl suddenly chimed with an alert, the tinny, monotone voice reporting "Wonder Woman" before falling silent._

" _Keeping tabs on us, Br- Batman?" she swiftly corrected, a hint of pain cracking through the steel._

 _He simply lowered his binoculars and turned his head ever so slightly before returning to his previous position._

 _He heard a small huff of air, which he absently noted, before she stepped up to his right and knelt. He stole a quick glance at her, heart quickening with an ache as he saw the pain she tried - and failed - to hide from him._

 _Grunting in frustration as the binoculars' built-in scanners failed to give him any new intel, he passed the gadget on to her. Almost as soon as she looked through the lenses, she gasped, murmuring that familiar phrase that he once found an endearing trademark - literally - of her character, but now brought only irritation._

" _What."_

" _The army- it's- they're-"_

" _They're_ what _?"_

 _She lowered the binoculars, and fixed him with an awestruck stare._

" _They're_ already fighting _."_

* * *

 _ **06:31:15, December 30, 2009 - Eastern Battlefront outside Verdun, France**_

 _Diana clasped her old friend's elbow, their bracers_ klinggg _ing together as the pair embraced. "_ Adelphḗ _."_

 _Alethea let out a joyous whoop as she spun the raven-haired princess around, spearing a_ mákhē _through the mouth before extracting it with a yank. "It is_ good _to see you, friend! No-_ more _than good! The gods have truly blessed us for you to come to our aid."_

 _She gave the blonde a small grin at that, then released her and slashed at an encroaching_ hárpuia _, mouth sputtering as a stray feather got in her mouth. Backing against Alethea's back, the pair rotated and moved forward through the hordes of monstrous war-spirits, cutting a slow, but steady path towards where the fighting was fiercest._

" _Did the_ basílissa _send you?"_

 _The blonde Amazon grunted as she slashed a_ kḗr _across the face, then let out a small whine. "Not… exactly."_

 _Diana's eyebrows raised in surprise for a moment, before returning to their furrowed state as she side-kicked a_ hysmine _away, creating a line of knocked-down spirits that were quickly trampled underfoot as more of their brethren surged forward, crashing against the Amazonian maniples they'd been unsuccessful in breaking thus far. "Then how-"_

 _A familiar, vulgar warcry cut through her question as though it was cloth; Alethea grinned. "Guess who?"_

 _Before she could voice her disbelief, the cry's vocalist locked eyes with her._

" _Princess Diana!"_

 _The redheaded Amazon nocked, drew, and released, the arrow whistling past her ear and embedding itself in an approaching_ vrikólakas _' heart; the spirit dissipated with a ear-piercing shriek, collapsing to dust._

" _Fancy seeing you here!" Artemis shouted over the din of battle, turning to pepper the enemy with deadly accuracy. "Red bet a few hundred rounds you'd be around soon enough."_

" _Red? Who-"_

" _Looks like you're gonna be paying me back if we get out of this alive, Arty."_

 _By now, Diana had to blink, lest her eyes grew too dry. "But- you- you-"_

 _Jason gave a sardonic smirk. "'You're dead?' Thought you would've learned better by now, Wondy."_

 _She blinked again, then gave the former dead man a piercing glare, to which he only snorted. "Trust me, Di, when you've been raised by Bruce, you tend to not wear the brown pants in most other conversations."_

 _Diana wrinkled her nose in disgust, though her eyes showed her true inner joy. "Just as vulgar as ever, I see."_

 _The scarlet-hooded vigilante shrugged and smirked, tossing a thumb back at Artemis._ Works great for later _, he mouthed._ If you know what I mean.

 _Diana let out a joyous laugh, charging into the enemy with her sword drawn._

* * *

 _ **08:01:26, December 30, 2009 - Central Battlefront outside Verdun, France**_

 _The greasy-haired warrior let out a short cackle, then pouted when Batman simply slashed at him with an enchanted batarang. "_ Really _?_ Nothing _?"_

 _The Dark Knight pressed his lips together, cowl furrowing in concentration as he worked to incapacitate his foe. A thought niggled at the back of his head, the sense of "not-right" taking on more and more water as the fight progressed._

 _The warrior stepped to the side, arms up, as though-_

 _A sudden, stinging pain on the side of his head forced Batman to take a few steps back, eyes momentarily closing as he grit his teeth. The sound of muffled grunting filled the darkness, a phenomenon he found to be caused by the warrior being restrained with- plants?_

 _"Ivy," he muttered, "what are you_ doing _?"_

 _A stalk of green shot up from the ground between the two fighters, wrapping around and within itself and extending until it took on a shape roughly resembling a woman. The scarlet-ferned head rustled as it moved back and forth, and a voice like the whistle of wind through a field of wheat said, "_ Now, Trevor. _"_

 _The warrior, who had been struggling against the lilac-streaked thorns and vines, slumped forward in time with the crack of a high-powered gunshot, auburn hair singed around the glowing entry wound. The air shimmering behind him warped and colorized, revealing Trevor's panting form._

 _He shot a glare at the soldier-turned-spy, taking some small satisfaction from the sight of him flinching in response, before turning his anger on the mass of plants that used to be Ivy._

 _"Isley,_ what _-" he began when it happened._

 _As if in slow motion, he turned at the wet sounds of fleshly impacts to see the warrior whom Trevor had executed standing over the man, fists dripping with blood. The blonde gasped for breath, his chest concave and filling with the precious, bright red liquid._

 _With a snarl upon his lips, Batman leaped for the doppelganger, arms outstretched, when-_

* * *

 _She found him swaying on top of Wonder Tower, eyes fixed on the flaming husk of the city,_ his _city, below him._

 _"Princess," he said in a voice made husky by anger and sorrow._

 _"Bruce," she replied._

 _"I had to do it, Diana. He was already on top of- on top- oh, God." He hung his head as fresh tears dripped from his nose. "I had to stop him, before he could start his madness again."_

 _"Bruce."_

 _"I knew something was wrong when Rykers' started tripping my sensors, but when Clark didn't even pick up- hell, when the_ Planet _was out of service- I should've- no, I_ could've _done something."_

 _"Bruce."_

 _"I_ failed _, Diana. All of the time I've spent trying to_ save _this city, and I failed it in the end."_

 _"Bruce."_

 _"Damnit, Diana, say_ something _other than-" he started to say, rounding on her with clenched fists, before taking a step back in horror._

 _"It wasn't only your city you failed, Bruce," she said, dislocated shoulder grinding horridly against the bone of its joint as she lifted her hand to pull her head back into position from where it hung against her sternum. Her one good eye stared him down as she advanced, while her other hand reached out for him, a grotesque patchwork of skin and tooth hurling out accusation after accusation: "Barbara, Jason, Gordon, Richard,_ Timothy _. You threw them into your war, expecting what? That your way would work? A few broken bones here, a coma or two there, and you'd scare the big bad mobsters and madmen into_ stopping _?"_

 _He tried to respond, to refute the words of truth, but nothing came out._

 _"Well,_ look around _, Batman! Look upon your works, and tremble."_

 _He hardly felt the heat of the wrought iron railing as he gripped it with shaking fingers, his eyes wide as the shambling horror he once knew as a teammate lifted off the ground and flew into him, fists first. He tumbled over the metal divider and fell into the flames._

 _Down, down he went, past the scorching heat, through the ashes of what was once his self-appointed protectorate, and into the dark. But this felt_ wrong _somehow, enclosing, oppressive. Suffocating._

 _He twisted, contorted, arched his back near to the point of pain, but the dark, the ever-present night from which everything came and to which everything returned, grew closer and closer, like a straitjacket drawn too tight. His mouth flopped and writhed, with nothing to replace the bile he heaved up. A jolt shot through him as he struck something hard, the air leaving him in a groan, and he curled in on himself, weeping._

 _He could not say for how long he remained like that, murmuring apologies to the dead: an eon, two, three, five, eight. Eyes wide, though he could see nothing, he stared into the pitch black around him, ears ringing, twitching at the slightest scuttle and scrape echoing, passing through the dark. Paralyzed by the constant pressure of pain, he could do nothing to defend himself from the sudden light than shone down from above, even as the creator of his torment screeched and shrank away from the exposing rays._

 _He watched as the hideous, senseless_ thing _drew its' dark expanses of wretched skin to itself; shrouding its' shimmering, panoptic crown as shaded columns of undulating black glared at its prey. It opened its gnashing maw of a mouth wide,_ wider _, as a whirl of black-spotted bone wailed out in piercing protest…_

 _And in the scream, he heard a voice._

* * *

 _ **08:25:23, December 30, 2009, Central Battlefront outside Verdun, France**_

 _Diana kneed the warrior in the face, then followed him to the ground, unleashing a flurry of furious blows._

 _Her eyes, bloodshot from tears and rage, stared down at the man, who simply smiled at her with broken teeth._

 _Before she could even think of doing it, the Lariat slipped around his neck, sizzling with a golden sheen as the thing writhed and shifted, gnarled beard morphing into chartuesuan vipers and irises turning white, in stark contrast to the black-red sclera._

 _"Deimos," she acknowledged flatly._

 _"Looks like you got me, Princess. Whatever_ will _you do, now that your lover lies dead at your feet?"_

 _She didn't hear the gasp from Alethea as the blonde heard the god's words, hand mindlessly reaching out and wrenching the gilded spear from her. Resting the speartip lightly against Deimos' throat, she said, "Release him."_

 _The grey skin around the god's forehead wrinkled as he frowned in mock confusion. "Who?"_

 _"Release. Batman." The tip dug into the god's jugular, drawing a bead of golden fluid._

 _"Sure, sure,_ or _we cou-"_

 _The god abruptly stopped, eyes fixed on the spearhead stuck in his mouth. He looked up at Diana, who returned the fearful gaze with a look of eerie calm before twisting the haft a quarter of the way around and pushing up, the edge of the spearhead bisecting his head like a razor through tender meat._

 _Diana turned, dropping the spear and pushing through the god's rapidly-decaying corpse, towards the spot where the two most important men in her life laid. Sparing only a quick, tearful glance at Steve's body, she fixed her eyes on Bruce, who was slumped against a rock, eyes wide, but unseeing._

 _"Bruce. Oh,_ gods _."_

 _She swept him up in her arms; wrapping the Lariat around his hand and hers, she pressed her forehead to his, tears leaking past eyes shut tightly._

 _"Come back to us, Bruce. Come back._ Please _."_

 _She watched for a sign of life beyond the rise and fall of his chest, the beat of blood under her fingers._

 _Nothing._

 _She held him close, whispering in his ear a command, a plea._

 _A confession._

 _"Come back to me, Bruce. I can't- I can't do this without you. I can't fight_ \- _I- I can't_ live _without you by my side._ Fight _. Fight for me,_ emen kardián _."_

 _Hugging him to her, the Amazon wept bitterly, muffling her sobs in his cape. Her mind raced, fear and terror settling in her stomach like a stone as her closest friend remained still and she felt the golden thread wither into dust and pass through their joined hands. For what felt like eons, she sat with him, soul sinking further and further into the darkness._

 _She opened her mouth, prepared to plead, to beg, to_ threaten _her patrons, when the lightest of touches alit on her shoulder._

 _Her heart stuttered, skipping a beat, then pounded twicefold as she heard a voice she had nearly lost hope in ever hearing again._

 _"_ Always _, Princess."_

* * *

 _ **16:02:33, January 18, 2010 - Camp Theta, Paris**_

 _Bruce felt the air in his lungs leave in a rush as he slammed into the hard-packed ground._

 _"Metas," he wheezed as he tried and failed to get to his feet._

 _Diana's face appeared above him, a smirk spreading across her face. "Do you concede defeat?" she asked sweetly._

 _Bruce gave her a mock scowl before flipping onto his feet and sweeping the Amazon's leg out from under her in one smooth blow. He kneeled, pressing a bandaged knee to her tanktop as he regarded her in affectionate amusement._

 _"Back didn't touch the ground fully. I win," he murmured in a low voice; her cheeks flushed pink._

 _"_ Skatá _," she cursed. "Mother was right; men_ are _cheaters."_

 _"Not this one," he said as he rose to his feet. Offering her a hand, which she accepted, he pulled her to her feet, then walked over to the chest that held their equipment, picking up a pair of towels from a rack as he went. He handed her one, then wiped the sweat from his chest, arms and face, pausing to watch her do the same._

 _"We need to talk about it_ some _time, Princess," he gently prodded._

 _She stiffened, and gave him a look. "Why?"_

 _"Because-" He stopped, pausing to swallow a lump in his throat, then continued. "You've_ changed _. After everything that's happened- Clark, Lord, Deimos, Steve-"_

 _She slammed the chest shut; the shadows on the face of the tent slowed, stopped._

 _"I did what I had to do," she said, her voice full of steel. "What I was_ born _to do."_

 _"How do you_ know _that? Damnit, Diana, look at what you've_ lost _before everything's_ gone _."_

 _"I haven't lost everything." Her eyes were full of pain. "Not yet."_

 _She brushed past him, out of the tent, with him following soon after._

 _"Diana."_

" _Diana."_

" _Diana, for once in your life, STOP!"_

 _She rounded on him, eyes burning into the white of his lenses. "And if I did, do you know what would happen, Batman? You would_ dare _to stop me from ending this madness._

 _"Of_ course _I would," he retorted. "I'm the only one that can- or will."_

 _She marched up to him, her face inches away from his cowl. "I will do what I_ must _. If you won't stand with me, then-"_

 _Grasping her by the waist, Bruce whirled her around, and crashed his lips against hers._

 _Her cry of surprise was swallowed by his mouth as he tasted her finally, delving deep into the taste of bitter coffee and mint, and delighting in the hint of chocolate and cinnamon on her tongue. Her hands came up, balling into fistfuls of his suit, then settled on his collarbone as she deepened the kiss, moaning softly as she tilted her head to the left._

 _The_ klckk _of a camera shutter drawing them apart finally, Bruce rested his cowl on Diana's forehead. "Always. I'll be with you_ always _, Diana."_

 _She bit her lip and grinned. "That a promise,_ 'rich kid' _?"_

 _"Never doubt it,_ Princess _," he replied with a smirk._

 _"Of course, but can you ever hope to..._ lay _with me?" she whispered in a sultry tone._

 _"Of course; it'd be bad for my reputation if I under-performed."_

 _"Prove it, then," she said as she started dragging him back to her tent._

 _"Olsen," he shouted, smirking as he heard the crash of supply crates behind him, "I want that photo on my cot in an hour._ Don't _disappoint me."_

* * *

 **Translations**

 _ **Adelphḗ**_ **\- sister**

 _ **mákhē**_ **\- generic male personification of battle**

 _ **hárpuia**_ **\- harpy**

 _ **basílissa**_ **\- queen**

 _ **kḗr**_ **\- goddesses that personify violent death**

 _ **hysmine**_ **\- generic female personification of battle**

 _ **vrikólakas**_ **\- folkloric Greek vampire (What? They can't _all_ be non-stereotypical monsters)**

 ** _emen kardián_ \- my heart**

* * *

 **Author's Notes: So, for those of you who've read the one-shot over the Merciless, did you guys notice that Diana didn't have her Lasso at all? Here's my theory as to why.**

 **An interesting modification that the writers of _Justice League Beyond 2.0_ made to the DCAU Wonder Woman's mythos is that the wielder of the Lasso of Truth must be _worthy_ of it, a la Marvel's version of Mjolnir. When the Wonder Woman of Earth 12 abandoned the ideals of Themyscira, namely "love, mercy, and kindness", and killed her Justice Lord doppelganger from Earth 50 in retaliation for her snapping Justice Lord Batman's neck, the Lasso crumbled in her hands. I thought that it would therefore make sense to apply that stipulation to Earth -12, with the extra bit of Diana's lasso breaking because it was used in the killing/murder of a divine/semi-divine figure. **

**In the spirit of filling out the backstory for the Merciless, we got a few key events happening in this chapter:**

 **\- Steve dies**

 **\- Phobos and Deimos are eliminated, which _should_ severely weaken Ares' effectiveness against Wonderbat & Co. ... in theory.**

 **Also: threw in a little bit of GreenHawk and Rebirth _Red Hood and the Outlaws_ in there for good measure. I have this idea in my head about DC's multiverse, but that'll come into play later - _much_ later, if the speed at which I'm writing and pacing out the story is any indication.**

 **Last little bit: DC literally made Bat-Kratos with the Merciless. Reading back over the one-shot now, it's almost cringe-inducing how much they lean into the "war" aspect of the Merciless. I'm sure it may have been necessary in some way, but _man_ , when you ignore most all of the psychopathic semi-Darwinian bullshit about war and survival and all that, you've got barely anything good left to go on. **

**It's just a shame that the only Dark Multiverse character that officially got anything post- _Dark Nights: Metal_ was The Batman Who Laughs, when you've got the twisted, crazed doppelganger of a character that I'm betting the majority of DC's current readership grew up watching, as well as a _teenage Batman_ whose willpower is strong enough to corrupt a _fucking GREEN LANTERN RING._**

 **-Nate**


	5. IV

**IV: The Wind through the Tree**

In the darkness, he saw a tree, golden shafts of light cracking through the pieces of shadowed bark. The thing was massive, yet, somehow, he knew he could simply reach up and just brush the leaves with his fingertips.

The walk was short, or at least it felt that way, in that timeless sense. Liquid lapped at his heels without wetness, and the ground beneath shifted solid. The bark felt cold to the touch, the kind that stuck to the skin and sent shivers through the entire body. In the silent echo of his mind, he heard only a single word: _Come_.

Grasping at the cracks between the bark, he heaved himself up the behemoth, fingers scraped raw from the sheer grip. Up he went, further and further still, past buffeting winds of blistering heat and sapping cold and through rough tangles of leaves and branches. He didn't think; he didn't stop. He just _moved_.

His lungs were burning by the time he reached the top, and his fingers were numb, but he clung to the peeling bark and gazed out into the darkness. Over the howl of wind that slapped at his numbed ears, he heard nothing for a while, then-

A scream.

 _Her_ scream.

He tried to call out, to tell her to run, but the words caught in his throat, and only a groan like death escaped his lips. In desperation, he tried again, but to no avail; in anger, with a calm voice, and still more, he tried, but the same, damned _groan_ only issued forth. He strained til no sound at all came out, and yet, still, she screamed.

He hung his head, heart clenched in fearful anxiety as that horrible, ever-present noise droned onward. He hardly felt his grip loosen, nor did he hear the wind whistling through his sweat-stiff hair or the sight of leaves covering up the dark nothing.

Then, he heard the voice yet again, as though it was right by his left ear: _You can still_ save _her, Bruce. You know you can._

He looked, and saw a sight he would have deemed strange, and maybe unreal, if not for his situation: a raven, feathers coated with a faintly luminescent slime, held pace with his fall, even as he felt himself reach terminal velocity. The corvid held his wide-eyed gaze, an unblinking, beady pair of eyes burrowing into his as the third, crowned above the two and centered with its beak, closed and opened slowly sideways; the orb burned a sickly malachite hue, forcing him to squint against the light.

 _What are you willing to do?_

His mouth flopped like a fish without water, but through some miracle, he managed to mouth that dreaded word. He could almost _see_ the monstrous bird smile.

 _As you wish._

Its' beak blurred, and he screamed as pain shot through his left eye and side. Something flowed past his hip and leg, viscous and smelling like rotten meat and rusted iron. Then, a crack, and he couldn't breathe, his throat wasn't working, someone, _anyone, he-_

* * *

Bruce's hands scrabbled at his throat, pulling at the phantom, burning rope. Except... it wasn't a phantom.

The thing felt cold as it bit into his flesh, writhing like a snake caught in his grip. Blood-slicked fingers clung to the razored side, holding the killing edge at bay with a near-inhuman deathgrip, but he could feel his grip slipping… slipping…

Then-

A roar of rage that curdled his intestines erupted from outside the tent, rupturing the air in time with the _woooosh_ of snow flurrying through the gash in the fabric. Something dark loomed in the gap, shot through by silhouetting moonbeams as a shade thrashed in its' grip. He heard the slow crunch of bone, the wet choking gasps of a throatless being scrabbling desperately for the airy edge of life, then the _ppap_ of something wet hitting the hard-packed ground.

The pressure eased, and some sour scent filled his nostrils.

" _Qagm. Geyase_ don't-"

The guttural language ceased as the figure blurred forward, replaced by a deathly gurgle. He felt the thing bounce off his chest and fall into his lap, meaningless to him. He only had eyes for her.

She glanced down at him, eyes lit like inflamed embers; her voice was gentle and chilling. "Are you alright?"

He rubbed at his throat, swallowed, but when he tried to speak, nothing came out. Coughing, he rasped, "Th-thank you."

"Of course, _Ainyth'drn._ "

"What?" he coughed out, hacking up a wad of bloody phlegm. His throat was _still_ on fire.

" _The time approaches. Kaeyebixtuman has been found, and Adrn-Mgeyes marches onward to paradise. Rise up, and_ take _that which was ordained for you from time immemorial."_ Her eyes burned an impossible green; light shined out of those black pits of eddying depth at a blinding luminosity. He threw up a hand to block the light, screaming _in burning agony_.

* * *

 _ **06:18:25, May 2, 2010,**_ _ **Pilsen, Czechia**_

 _Diana paced outside their tent, fists clenching and unclenching as she stalked to and fro. Her heart wrenched again as his cries rent the early morning air, and she worried at her stinging bottom lip._

 _She wondered, for a fleeting moment, if she should pray. She could count the number of times she had done so over the past four months on her hands, if that._

"Emḗ basílissa _."_

 _She turned around and strode forward, eyes locked on the strawberry-blonde Amazon. "How is he?" she demanded, arms crossing over her shirt._

 _Egeria flinched, averting her eyes as she squeaked, "It p-p-proce-"_

 _Diana rolled her eyes, then took in a breath and exhaled; feeling the ever-constant gelding pulse smooth and beat slower, she reached out and put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's alright, Eg. I'm just… worried."_

 _Eg sucked in a breath, then continued. "Sophia has given him a sedative, but the Martian girl has not moved since she melded with his mind."_

 _She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Damnit. I_ knew _M'gann wasn't ready for this. Alright, just… grab Zatanna and get her over here,_ fast _. If we don't get him back to some sort of normal soon, it'll be a shitstorm."_

" _This malady is no mere curse to be solved by simple_ magi _, milady."_

 _She whipped her head around, eyebrows raising in stunned amazement. "_ Blood _?! But- we thought you had been captured by Darkseid's invasion force years ago!"_

 _The immortal spread his hands, a smirk crossing over his face. "All roads lead back to Rome- or, rather,_ home _, in this case." Placidity washed over his face a moment later, and he clasped his hands behind him. "I have come for the Batman. He requires our expertise."_

" _Thus why even someone as accomplished as Zatanna or Constantine cannot wake him from this…_ whatever _this is?"_

" _Just so," he nodded. "Far,_ far _deeper run the Knight's woes."_

 _She felt Egeria take a step back, muttering "O, ma_ Dia _!" She would have, as well, but the sight he affixed her with, burning with hellfire, stayed her foot._

" _Gone,_ gone _, the form of Man! Arise, the Demon-"_

"Etrigan! _"_

 _She stepped aside, allowing the sallow-skinned Demon access to the tent flap. He grunted in affirmation as he stepped past the pair, and her nose wrinkled at the scent of sulfur, charred flesh, and…_ fish guts _?_

* * *

 _ **11:20:06, May 2, 2010, Pilsen, Czechia**_

 _Diana grasped the hilt of her sword and eyed the trio before her. "Come on," she muttered under her breath. "_ Move _."_

 _The three Amazons watched her with wide eyes._

"Move. _"_

 _The hilt_ krrk _ed under her grip._

" _By_ Hera _,_ move! _" Diana shouted, dashing towards the left-most woman, a tan Bana-Midhgallan named Lidia. The girl_ stunk _of something…_ intoxicating _, nearly overwhelming her as she battered down the pitiful excuse for an impromptu defensive stance and swept the legs out from under her. "Do you think it's naivete keeping that ashen-haired_ malaka _at bay? That it's_ fear _?!"_

 _She snarled, deflecting an arrow with her bracelets and throwing her shield at Nereida, forcing the ebon-skinned archer to drop herself and her bow to the ground with a yelp, narrowly avoiding the heavy spinning discus. "We_ killed _fear! I split Terror's head so he could weaken us no longer!"_

 _Vervena threw a quick, panicked glance at her two fallen compatriots; it was all the invitation Diana needed. She threw herself into the blonde, knocking her to the ground and following her there with a knee to the throat; leaning in, she whispered, "Fear has no place in this army, and you three_ reek _of it."_

" _That's_ enough _, Diana."_

 _Her heart skipped a beat at his voice, and she whirled around to tackle him in an embrace; a smirk overtook her expression of bared teeth as she asked, "And who are you to tell me, sir?"_

 _Bruce, leaning on a makeshift crutch, fixed her with a humorless stare. "We don't have time for this. Every moment we waste, Ares draws closer to his goal."_

 _Touching a hand to his ear, he turned away from her; his voice boomed over the ramshackle speakers set throughout the camp. "_ Effective immediately, we are at _fast pace_ ; collapse camp and be ready for departure at 1200 sharp. Batman out. _"_

* * *

 _ **05:50:21, August 7, 2010, Gjakova, Kosovo**_

 _Clutching at his arm, Bruce rolled onto his side and stifled a groan. The damnable thing_ burned _like it had slipped wholly into a vat of acid._

 _He drew the offending appendage to his chest, throwing a wide gaze toward his sleeping companion. She, in turn, twisted, muttering "_ Parakaláo, _" and pawing at the air._

 _He shuddered, cursing his misfortune, though in his early rising, or the blistering rate he had put the camp on, or the ones who sat far above him and his people in blithe judgement, he did not know, and rose up from the thin mattress. Stretching, he donned a shirt that was slightly less ragged than the rest and a worn pair of pants, slotted his earpiece into place, and slipped through the door and out onto the outcropping of the hotel room. Sucking in a breath, he stared out at the streets shrouded in deep grey fog and the cold summer sun that was just peeking over the Dinarides._

 _"Why." He was glad that his voice did not crack from the emotion that drove it. "Just answer me that._ Why _."_

 _The wind was his only answer, a hollow, whistling sound, as expected._

 _"Etrigan," he muttered as the scent of sulfur came to him._

 _"_ 'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God,' the Good Book has written; what then, crusader of the night, do you seek as your mission? To seek recompense for lives lost? What, then, are you willing to give for that cost? _"_

 _Turning narrowed eyes to the blood-eyed devil, Bruce said,"I will_ never _give her up. She is the_ one _good thing I have left in this- this_ hell _."_

 _The pain intensified, as if in protest._

 _The demon shook his head, a sad grimace overtaking his features. "_ Nay, wheel-man. This- _" He gestured out at the collapsed and decrepit buildings. "_ This is no hell, not while the children of the One still stand. There are woes still to come, battles to be won, but at the end of all things, all that shall still be left standing is graven sand. _"_

 _"You speak in riddles," Bruce grumbled. "I bloody_ hate _riddles."_

 _"_ In time, you shall know the things I, and those who have come before, portend, _" the demon warned, drawing his hands up to reach for the sky. "_ But, alas, my bond is no more, and thus, my time on this world has come to an end. _"_

 _"What?" Bruce asked, turning to face the demon fully, only to see dark flames surge up and through his body. "_ Wait- _"_

 _But the demon was gone, leaving a pile of bones encrusted with salt and a waxy, pale substance he belatedly recognized as adipocere, almost as if- as if the body had been submerged for a long,_ long _time. Swallowing, Bruce stared at the bleached skull of what had once been Jason Blood, and wondered with a disquieting air._

* * *

 **Translations**

 **Qagm - Don't**

 **Geyase - Please**

 **Ainyth'drn - Chosen***

 **Kaeyebixtuman - Lost City***

 **Adrn-Mgeyes - Long-forgotten name for Ares**

 **Emḗ basílissa - My queen**

 **ma Dia - my God**

 **Parakaláo - Please**

 *** - I am unsure of the translations for these.**

* * *

 **Author's Note: God, I am absolute shit at updating this thing. Over a third of a year?! Jaysus...**

 **Anyways: Unfortunately, not much to say about this one, since I just wanted to get at least something out for you guys and gauge how many people are still interested in this story. A few points, however:**

 **\- With Diana having killed Deimos, who himself killed Steve, his brother's murderer, she now has taken on the abilities of the sons of Ares. However, clearly, she doesn't have great control over them, seeing as how she never even got this much power in the original cartoons.**

 **\- If the Dark Multiverse is the inverted version of the main Multiverse, then I'd say that the worlds outside the realm of the 52 Earths can also have inversions. Further more, assuming that things do go the same way in many Dark Multiverse Earths as they do in the 52 Earths they're based off of, except for perhaps a single, world-ending thing, then I believe the same can be done for the "Sphere of the Gods". Thus, we get a small introduction into the idea of _something_ being off in the realm surrounding the Dark Multiverse with the strangeness of Etrigan, and the weird end of Jason Blood.**

 **Feel free to review, if you want.**

 **-Nate**


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